ESL / Bilingual Education Vision Statement

The English as a Second Language (ESL)/Bilingual Education Department supports the District’s mission and its Strategic Plan in assuring equal educational access for English Learners and their families. By recognizing that all stakeholders (students, parents, educators, community members, etc.) share the responsibility of ensuring that English learners develop linguistic, cognitive, and academic skills to become competitive citizens of our society, students whose first language is not English participate in academically challenging programs that respect and build upon the unique cultural and linguistic attributes they bring to the learning community.

The guiding beliefs on which this vision is anchored are:

Effective programs embrace, respect, and build upon the unique cultural and linguistic characteristics students and families bring to the learning community.

Effective programs comply with state and federal laws.

Effective programs function in unison with all other educational endeavors; they do not function in isolation.

Effective programs outreach to the community in order to benefit students, improve instruction, and strengthen collaboration.

Effective programs educate English learners to the same standard of excellence as all other students.

Effective programs ensure that all stakeholders are well-informed about effective pedagogy, and research on second language acquisition.

Effective programs make genuine efforts to communicate with families in a language they understand.

Effective programs are well-articulated and comprehensive to ensure horizontal and vertical alignment, equity, and student achievement.